Jose Mourinho’s work began to speed up the transfer target of the first Napoli striker Uruguayan Edinson Cavani, Italians are ready to sell top scorer.

Chelsea’s interest in adding an elite centre forward to the squad this summer isn’t much less of a secret than the fact that Jose Mourinho is in line to become the Blues’ next manager, and one of the mooted targets is Napoli ace Edinson Cavani. And via Gazzetta dello Sport and Tancredi Palmeri, we have more evidence that the club is indeed going after the 26-year-old:

The new Chelsea manager — widely expected to be Jose Mourinho — will doubtless also be seeking a top class center forward to bolster the squad. With Radamel Falcao’s transfer to Monaco all-but done, the Blues may have turned their attentions to Edinson Cavani. Indeed, Sky Italia reports that Mourinho is eager to secure the Napoli front man, with Chelsea prepared to offer £30 million plus Fernando Torres.

The deal makes logical sense with Torres, despite scoring 22 goals this season, likely to be surplus to requirements if a new striker arrives. A move to Napoli would also mean the Spaniard reuniting with Rafael Benitez with whom he worked at both Stamford Bridge and Liverpool. Yet, Napoli could well struggle to meet Torres’ wages and part-exchange deals rarely come to fruition because of all the possible complications involved.

Napoli striker Edinson Cavani is one of the hottest commodities on the summer transfer market, and Chelsea must prevent English Premier League rival Manchester City from beating them to the proverbial punch in acquiring him.

His admission is a blow to deposed Premier League champions City and Europa League winners Chelsea, who have been chasing the 26-year-old Uruguay star for months.

Cavani would give the Blues a massive boost to say the least, but the Napoli star has been noncommittal in discussing the prospects of transferring from his Italian club.

New manager Jose Mourinho will enter his second tenure with Chelsea after leaving La Liga giant Real Madrid. According to Tancredi Palmieri, Mourinho is apparently already pulling strings in Stamford Bridge for Cavani’s services:

By forking over the likely hefty transfer fee to obtain one of the most prolific scorers in the world, opponents would be even more hard-pressed to keep their sheets clean against Cavani and Chelsea.

One advantage Chelsea has is the presence Mourinho, whose past success with the club and familiarity will only help the process of recruiting Cavani. Mourinho’s past success in leading the Blues to an EPL title doesn’t hurt, either.

“As a child, I dreamed of playing for Real Madrid or Barcelona, but now I am proud to be take offer from Chelsea,” said Edinson Cavani.

“On my future, I cannot say anything, because I still do not know anything.

“I do not get distracted at all when I hear about offers and interest from other teams, I am used to it now.

“Honestly, I still have a contract and I just think about Napoli.”

That missing link should be in the form of Cavani. His presence would go a long way in ensuring the Blues can stay near the top of the EPL and also capitalize on their Champions League qualification.

As far as Chelsea goes, Cavani would obviously be an excellent pickup, although it’s not entirely clear whether spending €55 million to activate his buyout clause would be a wise move. Should Napoli be willing to part with him for less, it’s a move that we can probably get behind wholeheartedly, even if it does delay Romelu Lukaku’s arrival. Other teams are also in the bidding for the striker as well, so it won’t be an easy buy even if the Blues do stump up the cash. No matter what, though, it’s clear that Roman Abramovich and company have big intentions for this offseason.

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